When the Summer Sky Shatters
by iSnuffles
Summary: The Watanagashi Festival is coming up yet again but before it does four new teenagers arrive in the village during a storm. None of them have ever met yet they all have the symbol for Oyashiro-sama burned into them. How will their arrival change the tale?
1. Confessions

"They say this is where they found them."  
_"The bodies?"_  
"What else?"

"...And her Discman was still playing..."  
"You say that like its suppose to be scary."

**"So you're not afraid?"**  
"Of course not!"  
"Well you should. Don't you know who died there?"  
"Yes! Who doesn't?"  
"Exactly my point!"

"You make _no sense_."  
"Neither did the **murders**..."  
"Murders? They said it was an accident! How could so few people possibly-"

"They were SUPPOSED to be friends."  
"No doubt they weren't."  
"How could she do something like _that_?"  
"Who says he wasn't the one to snap?"

**"No one goes no a killing spree without a decent reason. Well... whackos do but these guys weren't whackos they were... innocent. They were our neighbors... they were just going to have a little** fun.** So how'd it get so out of hand?"**

They say the four outsiders had a bit of a history.  
Well, so did the six friends.  
But maybe it _wasn't_ either group.  
Maybe it was the village that caused the tragedy. Maybe there really was a grand master, pulling the strings of their puppets because they enjoyed watching the world suffer.  
**No matter what,** the cast wanted to figure out. They wanted to prove to themselves that they weren't scared, that the rumors were wrong, and that if they could do this one thing, they'd finally make it in life.

_Maybe they wouldn't need those pills..._

Well they made it alright-  
**But what really happened?**


	2. Raiden

THIS IS A DECOY SENTENCE YOU WILL SEE TWICE BECAUSE OF A GLITCH!

**Author's Corner:** Got you interested now, eh? Well that's good. As a heads up, I will be following the tradition of Higurashi as I write this. You all should know what that means.

Oh and much love to my friend Megumi because I've totally abused the fact that she's Japanese to get the titles to the different arcs. THANKS SO MUCH! 3 Oh and I've fudged how long Keiichi's lived in Hinimizawa on purpose so the plot makes sense.

* * *

When the Summer Sky Shatters

_Chyosa-hen  
_Part one: Radien

* * *

_**They say that the four outsiders had a bit of a history. Ones that would soon rival those of the six friends who, in turn, would make them their own twisted histories or bring them fourth into a reality. Some today still think it was no any of the children, that it was the village itself that caused the Greek inspired tragedy. I have my own doubts about it purely being the cause of a village as that would be physically impossible. But by gathering documents from retired officers who were in the task force at the time & all seemed to quit shortly after, I began my journey to try to make sense of the mysterious summer of 1983 in the rural village of Hinamizawa, Japan where the lives of eight young adults and two children were cruelly taken from them. What youth they had known before their deaths, I cannot exactly explain. I hope that these following documents will bring light to the bloody summer. If I can discover the true murderer, it will be a miracle. For now, I will sort out intentions and plausibility until I can reach a verdict finally. If I am lucky, this case being solved will at last put the ghosts of so long ago to rest in their graves with the satisfaction of knowing the truth has at last been told. If I can do that, and live to tell the tale, then I might just be able to continue on in this harsh world where pain and misfortune is brought down like an iron fist to the unsuspecting youths of the world.  
**__**-Detective Callahan, 1997**_

With a sigh the man flexed his hands and placed the printed sheet of paper next to him on the table. He'd come in the point of his investigation where he needed to talk to someone about it that would not listen or interrupt. He needed to vent and clear his mind. He needed to try and figure out what could drive anyone to kill their friend as it seemed like something one could not do on purpose without serious effort. He needed to put his feet in the shoes of a murder. He needed to put himself in the shoes of a teenager- a time in his life that he loathed. He needed a _raise _and a _brake._ He needed to put himself in the shoes of a resident in the small village in Japan with a bloody history. In attempts to do so, he down graded his life to try and mimic one of someone living during the eighties. If it wasn't around then, he wanted no part of it unless it was absolutely necessary for the completion of the investigation. At least he didn't have to get rid of the old typewriter he was using since… forever.

Replacing the old sheet of paper with a new one, he slid the notch on the typewriter to the side and began to type once more. He paid no mind to how its _'a'_s and _'e'_s were bolded, how the '_u_'s were slanted and how every '_w_' and '_s_' looked capitalized.

Everyone I spoke to seemed to have their own version of the stories, or at least some details they threw in to 'spice it up', there's one thing they all agree on for the beginning…

xXx

"Please be careful children! Get home as quickly as you can. Go in groups, at least in threes if you can, so if one of you gets hurt there's still someone to run and get help. Don't be reckless and please don't do anything unsafe. If you're usual way home is blocked off or you can't make it home, stay with a friend and phone home!"  
"Alright teacher!"  
"Don't worry, we'll be safe."  
"Keiichi! Hurry up!"  
"I'm coming Mion!"

Throwing the last of his playing cards in his bag, he'd made sure to bring his own so that the girls wouldn't be able to cheat, he slung his bag over his shoulder grumbling slightly. "I don't get what the big deal is," he muttered as he walked over to the door where all the students were rushing out. "It's just a bit of rain."  
"Haven't you learned anything?" Mion asked, leaning forward.  
"Keiichi hasn't lived here long enough," Satoko reminded the green haired leader of their gaming club.  
"Oh yeah." Sometimes Mion and the other forgot that Keiichi hadn't lived in the village long enough to know certain things. Only when matters of the Cotton Drifting festival came up or other matters you would have to have long term residency to know, were they reminded that he had only been living in Hinimizawa for a few months.  
Satoko rolled her eyes and graced him with an explanation. "Rainstorms at this time of the year aren't just a drizzle or a gentle shower like the ones you're used to. Because they're bad droughts during the summer, torrential downpour is only expected."  
"But in Hinimizawa, we get the bad storms before the droughts, so no Club meeting today," finished Mion. A clap of thunder made them all jump. Rena pulled on Keiichi's sleeves.  
"Keiichi, we should go quickly." The other girls nodded. Last year the path Rena, Keiichi and Mion took home got flooded out. Keiichi looked back out the window and saw the sky was turning violent colors of black and gray. He took a step back.

_They were blue a moment ago_, he thought.

"Keiichi!"  
"C-coming! Bye Rika, bye Satoko!" He waved at the younger girls and took up a run to catch up with Rena and Mion who had started leaving without him. "Hey! Wait up guys!"

xXx

The road in the forest was a lot brighter than Keiichi had originally expected. After seeing the sky look as though black paint was about to start falling down from it, it was a wonder how any light was getting through the thick trees. Probably through the same gaps that are letting in the rain, Keiichi mused. Another thunderclap echoed through the valley.

"One choo-choo train, two choo-choo train," He heard Rena count off to herself as if there was no cause for alarm. "Three choo-choo-" Another lighting strike lit up the sky a bright white color. "It's almost three miles away," Rena said.  
Keiichi quickened his pace, three miles wasn't a comforting distance. "How do you know?" he asked.  
"However many choo-choo trains you count in between the thunderclap and the lightning is how many miles away the storm is." Another thunderclap made them all break out into a running pace.  
They ran past the largest pine tree in the forest, Keiichi noted how the shadows casted made it look like a possessed tree. A chill ran up his spine.  
"Is it always this bad during summer storms?" He shouted over the sound of the rain. All three teenagers were soaked to the bone and he was shivering by now.  
"It's usually worse!" Answered Mion from up ahead. She had taken the lead while they ran, followed by Rena and then Keiichi. "Last year there were mudslides and the entire city got flooded out. The shrine for Oyashiro-sama nearly got washed away in the…" Her voice trailed off as did the sound of her running. She slowed to a walk and stopped in her tracks, Rena following the same suit.

"What's… the matter…?" Keiichi panted as he came to a stop, resting his hands on his knees as he leaned doubled-over. In front of the trio, the road was blocked off by a fallen tree drowned in deep water. If he had to guess, Keiichi would say it was three feet deep –at least- to cover the tree like that. "What now?" he groaned.  
"We go back," Mion answered after a moment.  
"To where?" Keiichi asked. Another streak of lightning filled the air. Less than two miles away.  
"To Rika and Satoko's, Keiichi!" Rena cheered. "We can all have a sleepover!"  
He chucked. "You say that like nothing's wrong…"  
"There's not…" Mion stated. "Not _yet_ anyway…" But it was lost in the thunder and a darkening sky. "Come on guys!" She had to shout to make her voice carry over the rain. "Let's move it or loose it!"

And with those words they took up running again for awhile until Keiichi could barely see. Fog was rolling in and the light was fading from the sky, on top of that the rain was coming down in gallon sized drops. "Rena! Mion! Where are you guys?"  
"Over here Keiichi!"  
"Hurry up!"  
"Wait up!" He pumped his arms and tried to catch up. Just as he caught the outline of white fabric in the dark and rain, he heard a rare sound- Mion shrieked. "What is it?"  
"There's a person!"  
_"What?"  
_"Come here!"

Indeed when he arrived to where his friends had stopped again, there was a body laid out on the ground underneath the shelter of the largest pine tree. Pale skin glistened in the fog and light. "She wasn't here earlier," Mion whispered.  
"It looks like she was trying to get out of the rain," Keiichi noted. He took a step closer and crouched down to get a better look at the girl. She was face down in the mud, curled up in a fetus position, clenching something dark against her chest. Her drenched clothes clung to her frail body, making it easier to see her shallow breathing. The colors were hard to make out in the darkness but they were definitely a dark colored sweater and skirt. Her eyes were closed and she shivered, covered by stringy long black hair. Either she was unconscious or she was asleep. "Who is she?"  
"Don't know."  
"Isn't she from the village?" Both girls shook their heads. "Then how'd she get though the forest in the storm?" Again he was met with silence. So what did they do now?  
"Ah! Let's take her home!" Rena exclaimed as she jumped up, spinning.  
"A complete stranger?!"  
"Sure! She'll be another friend. Maybe she can join our Club and help us plan the festival!"  
"What festival?"  
"… and then you can fall in love!"  
"Wait, what?"  
"I get to be the bridesmaid!"  
"Rena…"  
"And there can be flowers!"  
"Rena…"  
"Come on Keiichi!"  
"No, listen!"  
"You need to carry her."  
"Not you too Mion…"  
"And our kids will play together…"  
"RENA!"

The ginger hair girl finally stopped twirling and rambling. She huffed and looked at Keiichi who had been trying to get her attention for awhile. "Yes Keiichi?"  
"L-look! Can't you see what she's holding? She's got a _gun_."

­­­­­­

* * *

Chyosa-hen investigation chapter/arc

**EDIT:** Okay, sorry if this comes out funny. is being retarded -adding random spacing, deleting and repeating things, messing up my alignment etc- so I'm sorry for that. Bare with me and review, m'kay? But I think I fixed it...


	3. Lost

**Author's Corner:** While I have you, let me say that I won't be using honorifics or really any Japanese in this series. The only reason why I translated the title is because in Higurashi, they make points of the titles in the Japanese translations. For instance, in 'Watanagashi-hen' even though they translate the arc/chapter as being the 'Cotton Drifting Chapter' Shion makes a point of saying; "Don't you call them 'wata'?" There's an asterisk at the end of her sentence that leads to an explanation that 'wata' can also mean 'intestines'. Obviously, if a person didn't speak Japanese, they wouldn't know that and ordinarily I would have over looked it but since a character made the point to connect the two, I'll include it. Sorry for any confusion this causes. If it helps you hate me less for it, I am learning some Japanese from my friend.

* * *

When the Summer Sky Shatters

Chyosa-hen  
Part two: _Lost_

* * *

"What? No way!" Mion proclaimed and knelt down beside Keiichi. "That can't be a real one… can it?" Sure, she had a gun. But she never really used it so that didn't count, she was honestly just keeping it to look cooler. And besides, her handgun was an airsoft so that wasn't the same as having a real gun that fired bullets. Hers was just like if she had a handgun for paintball, it fired plastic BBs that were 6mm and it couldn't really do much damage, aside from a nice sized welt, unless it was fired from point-blank range. In which case it would have to go in an ear, someone's mouth, nose or eye(s) to do real damage. A welt wasn't going to kill anybody but bullets… well that was a different story. And if that was a real gun, she leaned forward and stared at the metal object clenched in the girl's hands that she held close to her chest, then they could be in some serious trouble if she woke up startled.  
"What do we do?" Keiichi asked.  
Mion placed her hands on the muddy ground and lowered herself further, the storm momentarily forgotten, and inspected the gun. It was real alright, a Browning 9x19mm Hi-Power model to be exact. The black haired girl had her left hand gripping the barrel and her right hand gripped the handle where the magazine was stored inside. By some miracle, if it should even be called that, Mion could see the colored strip on the safety sticking out. "Red is dead," she muttered.  
"What?"  
"When the safety of a gun, that's what keeps it from firing, is sticking out either which way that means it's turned off and you can fire it. Usually there's a tiny red stripe going around the sides of the button so you can be perfectly sure if it's on or off." Another crack of thunder and lighting lit up the sky. The trio screamed and jumped back, afraid that the girl would wake up and shoot them. The girl didn't stir a bit.

"Mion is the rain girl dead?" Rena asked, peeking out from where she had been hiding behind Keiichi.  
"Dunno…. Keiichi! Go check!"  
"What? Why me?"  
"Because you're the guy! You're supposed to check and protect girls."  
"So?"  
"If you don't, we'll all drown waiting for you!"  
"Fine, fine," he grumbled.

He walked cautiously, eyeing the girl's handgun. He had a feeling that if he was her, he would probably shoot first and ask questions later. More lightning lit up the forest as he gently pressed his index and middle fingers against her jugular vein in her neck. "I can feel a pulse!" He announced.  
"Is it weak?"  
"How should I know, do I look like a doctor to you?"  
"Teacher said you're the best at science," Rena reminded him sweetly.  
"Lot of good that does us right now…"  
"Yeah! If Keiichi was good at science, then we wouldn't be in this mess!" Add one more point for Mion's tally of insults to Keiichi for the day. If something actually happened to them, he'd never hear the end of it. A ripple of cold ran though her body and she shivered. Now the old wife's tale about going in the rain without and umbrella would get you killed was starting to make sense.

Taking a breath, she walked boldly up to the girl and in one swift motion, yanked the handgun from the strange girl's hand. She held her breath, expecting a horrible and angry reaction, but got none. _Wow, she's really out cold, _she noted. Pushing the safety button into the middle of the gun so that it was dead center, she glanced back at the black haired girl. "Pick her up Keiiichi, we're bringing her with us."  
"You're kidding, right?" Keiichi scoffed. It almost was funny when Rena had mentioned it, but definitely not now. "Mion, we don't even know who she is, she has a gun… she could be a serial killer for all we know!" At the mention of a killer, the other two girl's eyes' darted to and from each other. Luckily Keiichi missed the exchange.  
"But Keiichi," Rena started and walked back up to him with her hands behind her soaking wet dress, her hat so soaked it was retaining water. "If we leave her here, she'll die."  
Mion nodded in agreement. "Rena's right. And besides, it'll look suspicious for us if she dies and we were the last to see her. What if she's someone important?"  
"Guess you're right…" Not needing to be ordered any further he knelt once more in the mud, but this time behind the girl, he slid his arms under her knees and arms. His fingers awkwardly tried to find a place to rest for a tighter without coming in contact with her breasts. If he made it out of the forest path without being slapped, it'd be a miracle. She was surprisingly light compared to what he had expected so walking with her in his arms would be a cinch. Running would be difficult because he was likely to fall, but if the world decided to curse them further he was sure he could manage.  
Mion pocketed the girl's gun and waved back at him. "Come on, you can call your parents from Rika and Satoko's house."

xXx

"How much further?"  
"Not much, they live on the edge of the forest."  
"What if they're not home?"  
"Don't be such a pessimist Keiichi," Mion said as she slowed her jog to a walk. "Of course they're there. Why wouldn't they be home?"  
"I was just putting it out there," Keiichi muttered. If their way home had been blocked, whose to say the way Rika and Satoko went wasn't blocked as well? Sure, they all seemed to be making it fine to their friends' house, but they were coming through the forest. He had no idea how the two little girls made it home everyday. Come to think of it, he had no idea where the even lived. "Mion, are you sure this is the right way? We've been off the paths for a long time."  
"I'm positive," the green haired girl called back. "It's a short-cut. Or at least… I think it is…"  
"What do you mean you _'think'_ it is?!"  
"I kinda got turned around at the apple tree an-"  
"You got us _lost?_" Keiichi glared at the back of his friend. "Are you trying to get us all killed or something?"  
"Shut up!" Mion shouted. "It's not my fault!"  
"Yes it is!"  
"Ug, be quiet already! I can't hear myself think anymore, Keiichi."  
"When did you start?"  
"Take that back!"  
"Not until you get us un-lost."

If either arguing teenager had the put the effort into multi-tasking, they might have noticed the slight twitch in the fingers of the girl who hung limply in Keiichi's arms. It wasn't a distinct motion, but Rena noticed it because she had been ignoring the others as they argued. Being able to notice little details like that from diving in the dump at the end of town for dead things didn't hurt either. She looked on curiously, wondering if Keiichi and Mion really had the ability to wake the dead. The strange girl seemed to be flexing her index finger as if… "She's pulling a trigger," Rena whispered softly. Neither Mion of Keiichi seemed to have notice the whisper or the girl, they were still arguing just now with some curses thrown in. If they kept this up then the poor girl they found might go deaf before she woke up. "Ah! She's opening her eyes!"  
"Hm?" Both teenagers stopped shouting and looked at they girl they found. She blinked once and stared at Rena for a moment, no doubt wondering why the ginger haired girl was upside down, before her eyes darted around to examine her new surroundings.

"Where…?" She whimpered and sat up in Keiichi's arms. She looked like a doe caught in the headlights as she tried to look for something familiar to her. "No, no, no," she repeated the phrase as she tried to get out of Keiichi's grip.  
"Hey! Be careful, miss."  
"Please let me go," she begged softly. Her eyes looked straight into his. They were teal colored like the ponds that lay in the middle of the village.  
"Alright." No difference in his tone, no change in his face, not blush or anything of the sort as he spoke. He lowered the arm that held her from underneath her legs first so she could stand before letting go of her from under her arms. Keeping the eye contact, more so because she seemed to be staring at him, he watched her flatten out her skirt and look up at the sky that was emptying gallons onto them. Her teal eyes made their way to inspect the three villagers, as she patted down her red sweater with a panicked expression.  
"Where…?" She couldn't seem to find whatever it was she was looking for. She started to say something else when Rena cut her off.  
"You have pretty eyes!" The ginger haired girl exclaimed. "Are you wearing contacts?"  
"N-no," the girl answered and took as step back. Rena skipped forward, standing on her tip toes as she continued to talk quickly to the new girl.

Was she new? Did she know where she was? Did she like the rain? Did she know why she was under a tree? How did she get there? What did she think of them? Was she tired? Did she hurt? Her eyes were practically spinning by the time Rena had finished. She shifted her weight on her feet and glanced at Keiichi then to Mion who had yet to say anything then back to Keiichi. "Yes. No. Not big storms. I was trying to get out from the rain. I… walked? You're um…" the girl nibbled on her bottom lip as she tried to answer the question. "… very nice for rescuing me? No. Yes, but not that bad."  
"Where are you hurt?" Keiichi asked.  
The girl's eyes widened and she darted her gaze away from him. "It's not that bad, just probably sprained my wrist or something when I tripped."  
"Let's see."  
"No thanks!" The girl shook her head back and fourth, pulling her right wrist to her chest.  
"Come on, I won't hurt you."  
"No really mister, I'm good."  
He laughed. "I'm not 'mister'. My name's Keiichi." Sticking out his hand to shake hers.  
The girl stared it. She lowered her hand from her chest but before she could check it another voice made her jump and pull back.

"There you guys are! We were looking for you all. The way to your houses got flooded out." Sharp, loud voice. Short figure with blonde underneath an umbrella dressed in green dress. It was Satoko standing on top of the set of stair, they couldn't see much further but there was a dirt path that led to her house behind her. "Hurry up and get inside, Rika made hot cho-…" she frowned and raised a finger, counting out the figures in front of her. "Four, huh? Guess that means you found another one."  
"Another what?" asked the girl.  
"Another kid," Satoko snapped back. "What else?"  
"You mean there's someone else?" Keiichi asked.  
"Isn't that what I just said?! YES! God, stop being an idiot Keiichi."  
"You don't have to be so mean to him," said the new girl. Her voice was much more calm and leveled than it had been a moment ago. "He's the one who carried me here."  
"So Keiichi's finally bringing girls home, eh?"  
"It's not like _that!_" Keiichi declared and pointed at Mion and Rena. "They made me do it."  
"We didn't make you do anything," Rena giggled, "You carried her all by yourself. Mion just gave you the idea."  
"B-but,_ I_… oh forget it. Let's just get inside before we drown."


	4. The Mark

**Author's Corner:** Now that I've got some reviewers I'll say this- thanks for all the support and… I want three new reviews for me to publish the next chapter! Reviewing every chapter makes me want to update more! Sorry this took so long!

* * *

When the Summer Sky Shatters

_Chyosa-hen  
_**_The Investigation Chapter  
_**Part three: The Mark

* * *

"So you found her underneath a _tree_?"

The trio nodded. Everyone in the school club was scattered about the small living room in Rika and Satoko's house. The two outsiders stayed silent and just watched everyone who already knew each other. In one corner closet to the door was the girl that Keiichi, Rena and Mion had found in the woods. She was drying her long black hair with a fluffy black towel she had received from Rika. There was a woodstove going in the middle of the living room that would eventually dry everyone off. As they were away from the storm and out of the rain, her clothes were more distinguishable. She had on a long-sleeved red sweater that she wore with a white cross going down the middle, a black pleated mini-skirt and black stockings that reached up to her thighs just a few inches below where the skirt ended. The black dress shoes she had been wearing were in the doorway with everyone else's shoes. Her skin was pale -but no one could tell if that was just because she had been out in the rain for a long time or if it was natural- aside from her cheeks which had a natural, but slight, tint of rose to them and aquamarine eyes. Her black hair was relatively straight and down side from the two parts on the side which were tied up by two soaked black ribbons.

"And you don't know how you got here?" Rika asked softly from across the room.  
The new girl pointed politely at Keiichi, "He carried me here."  
"I meant how you got in the forest."  
"Oh." The new girl flushed more in the cheeks and lowered her finger. "I ran. I can't remember from where, well I can remember what it looks like but not the name."  
"Why were you running?"  
"Because-…" The girl looked down. "I... don't know."  
"That's alright. What's your name, miss?"

The new girl looked at Rika as if she had just proven that there really was such a thing the square root of a negative number. "My… name…?" Rika nodded. "I… can't remember that either."  
"Can you remember _anything_?" Satoko sneered.  
"Well I know I'm fourteen."  
"But you can't remember your name?"  
"No." The girl fidgeted with the hem of her skirt as Satoko turned her attention to the other newcomer.  
"Can _you_ remember your name?"  
"Duh. I'm Isako Tenchi," the boy replied. He was in the opposite corner as the new girl, close to the window. He had black hair that was pulled back into a short ponytail, but it still made him look like a drowned rat, and calm black eyes. He was wearing ripped up jeans and a white dress shirt that was covered in mud stains, a red tie hung loosely around his neck. In addition his head had been wrapped with white bandages.

"Well at least one of them can," Satoko muttered. Rika had been the one who found him while she was looking for Keiichi and the others. Both of the young girls were looking for their friends but Satoko started later than Rika had because she started to get nervous if they would be found before nighttime or not. They had gone off in two different directions to cover more ground in case their friends got lost when Rika had come across Tenchi walking along the old mud covered paths, holding his bleeding head. He told Rika that he had been walking in the forest when a tree branch fell on him and cut his head so she brought him inside to clean up his wounds. Such was the way of Hinamizawa, trust until you were given a reason not to.

"Oh yeah, thanks again for helping me," Tenchi said. "I'll be out as soon as the rain lets up, m'kay? It shouldn't be much longer, right?"  
"Pfft. Only maybe another week or so," Satoko said. "You came here during the flood season, way to go genius!"  
"Aw man…"

Mion stood up from where she was sitting at the table. Speaking for the first time since the new girl woke up, she said, "At least we'll have something to do now."  
"Hm? What do you mean Mion?" Keiichi asked.  
"Well we can't just keep calling her 'Hey you', can we?"  
"Who?"  
"Her!" Mion pointed at the new girl who in turn pointed at herself. "Yeah you. You don't want to be ol' whatsername forever, right?" The girl shook her head. "So it's settled! Today's punishment game will be contributing to the new girl's name!" Cheers came from all of the female members of the after school gaming club as Mion announced that they would hold the meeting for the day at that moment.  
"I thought you cancelled today's club meeting," Keiichi mumbled.  
"I did but now there's nothing to do so now's the perfect opportunity. Right guys?"  
Satoko jumped up, pumping her fist, "Right!"  
"Mm-hmm," Rika said with a delicate smile.

All that was left was for Rena to react and support the 'vote' so all club eyes turned to her. She cocked her head to the side slightly and frowned. "What about Tenchi and our forest friend?" She asked softly. 'Forest friend' must have been how she was referring to the new girl without being rude.  
"Oh yeah…" Keiichi glanced back at the girl. "Know how to play cards?"  
"She can't!" Mion shouted and gave the new girl a cold stare.  
Rika caught the stare of the oldest girl and frowned. "Why _not_, Mion?" She asked.

The green haired girl blinked and softened her look. Rika seemed to be the only one who noticed, aside from the new girl who now was looking at the floor again. "Because she… she… she obviously can't play to name herself, right?" She had a point there.  
"And Tenchi?" Rika asked once more.  
"He can play," Mion replied. She turned to face the boy with a hand on her hip. "You! You're an honorary member of the Club for today, got it?"  
"Got it!" Tenchi grinned and gave her a thumbs-up, not even bothering to question everything that had just happened. First thing learned about Isako Tenchi, he didn't need to be bothered with the details of things. From what he could see, everyone minus their Forest Friend already knew each other. They had established a club to play cards, or so he guessed, and they had just invited him to play with them. Who was he to refuse such kindness after Rika had already brought him to her house and taken care of him?  
"Alright, the name of the game is 'Dai Hin Min'," Mion announced. "Keiichi! Get out your cards out."  
"We're not playing with the Club cards?"  
"Nope. Not today. Now hurry up."

Keiichi nodded and stood up, walking in the direction of the new girl who was sitting beside his backpack. Her aquamarine eyes locked with his brown ones for a moment. "Um… excuse me," he said as he stopped in front of her. She pushed herself to the side with her hands, still not dropping eye contact with him. _Is there something wrong with my eyes?_ Keiichi wondered as he lowered his gaze to grab his school bag. He rummaged through the wet fabric material. "Damn it, all my notes are ruined." It would appear as though the only thing in his messenger bag that didn't get wet was his pack of playing cards. _Teacher's going to be mad,_ he told himself as headed back towards the larger group of people. No one noticed the blank look on her face shift to a dark stare as Keiichi sat next to the others, all crammed together around the table.

xXx

Satoko pounded her small fist against the table. "No fair!" she grumbled, "He must have cheated!"  
"Sorry miss," Tenchi chuckled. "That's just the way that it goes." The tiny blonde girl glared at him and passed on two of her cards. He had just taken her place as 'the very rich man' in the game and bumped her down to just being 'the rich man'. Why she was complaining about being bumped to second place, he couldn't understand. She was still winning. The ones who really should be complaining should be the other boy Keiichi, the ginger haired girl, and Rika. They hadn't even been playing for more than ten minutes when the game ended, the placing stayed the same.  
"Guess we're the losers," Rena said. She had come in second-to-last place.  
"Why can't I ever win?" Keiichi had come in third to last.  
"Look at the bright side, Keiichi; you're the best of the losers." Rika surprisingly had come in dead last.  
"Gee thanks," he mumbled and rubbed the back side of his head. He sighed and swiveled to face the new girl just as her dark expression faded away to a dull one. Was that his imagination, or had she just look seriously disturbed? _Probably just mad that the losers get to decide her name,_ he told himself. Sure, let's go with that. "Um so, who goes first?"  
"Rena will, Rena will!" No one seemed to objected Rena's outburst, Keiichi would be damned if he did because he didn't have any name in his head yet, so she skipped forward to meet the new girl at her feet.

She leaned forward, inspecting the girl almost while receiving a faint smile in return. Keiichi found this odd after the look her had just seen the black haired girl give the group. After a view moments, Rena clapped her hands together and giggled. "Amaya!" She exclaimed. Before there could be any protest or agreement, Rika stepped forward without missing a beat.  
"You're middle name is going to be Raiden," the blue haired girl explained.  
"For Raiden-sama?" Keiichi asked.  
Rika nodded with a small, "Uh-huh."  
"Stop stalling Keiichi!"  
"Who said I was stalling?" He shouted back a Mion. The two seemed to be very argumentative today.  
"That's the point!" Mion groaned. "You haven't said anything yet. Hurry up and pick a name!"  
"Well you haven't given me any time to think!"  
"You should have been thinking about a name while you played."  
"How was I supposed to know that I would lose?!"  
"Pfft. You said it yourself Keiichi, you _always_ lose."  
"No one asked you Satoko."

While the three continued to bicker, Tenchi made his way over to Rika, walking with one hand in his pocket. "They always like this?"  
Rika nodded. "Sometimes, but I didn't think that Cabin Fever could spread so quickly. I'm sorry. Usually they're better behaved." She turned to the newly named Amaya and sat next to the girl. "Guess you'll have to wait for your surname a bit longer."  
Amaya laughed quietly. "It's alright. I'm fine with waiting so long as I'm not doing it alone. What was your name again?"  
"Me? Furude Rika," She waved a bit. "Nice to meet you Amaya."  
Amaya was going to reply with saying 'you too' when she got cut off by a loud, high pitched whistle that made her jump to cover her ears. From beside her, Tenchi had two fingers in his mouth and was quickly gaining everyone's attention. "Quiet!" He shouted. "Is this really how you're all going to act when we're all going to be stuck together for awhile? At least show some respect for the ladies and your elder."  
"Who said you're my elder?" Mion snapped. "How old are you?"  
"Almost seventeen," Tenchi replied with a smirk. "And you?" Mion grumbled something as a reply. "What was that?" He asked.  
"I _said_, 'None of your business!'"  
Tenchi chuckled triumphantly. "That's what I thought. So, Keiichi was it? Amaya's missing a surname and it's your turn. The floor's all yours."  
Keiichi sighed. He still didn't have a name to give. "'Kay, I got one." He looked out the window. The sky was so dark he could have sworn it was the evening. In fact, it had been like that since he left school. The trees casting their shadows only made it darker. _'Hold on…'_ Maybe he _did _have a name after all. "Sayo," he said. "Since the rain was turned to night rain from the dark and brooding sky, it made it look like the evening. That's a good name, right?"  
"… You're so lame Keiichi," Mion sighed. She slid down the wall and sat leaning against it. "But I guess it will do. What do you think, Amaya?"  
The girl in question jumped up nervously and bowed. "Ah, yes, thank you! The name's fine. But um…"  
"Don't you like it?" Rika asked as she tugged on Amaya's red sweater.  
"What? Yes, I do it's just that I never got everyone's name in the first place."  
"That's right, sorry about that." Keiichi rubbed the back of his head. With his left hand still behind his head he walked over to where Amaya was. Grinning, he stuck his right hand out. "Maebara Keiichi," he said, "Pleased to meet you."  
Amaya looked down at his hand for a moment. Before smiling. "Sayo Amaya." She stuck her hand out. "Thank you for saving me Maebara."

As they shook hands, Keiichi smirked. "Heh, gotcha," he said and grabbed her wrist tightly. She screeched as Keiichi latched onto her wrist and pulled her towards him. Holding tight to her he used his free hand to pull her sleeve once he did, he froze. "W-what's this…?"  
"Let her go!"  
"What are you doing?"  
Amaya whimpered. "Keiichi please… you're hurting me." He shook his head and blinked before letting her go. She stumbled back a bit and tried to cover her arm back with her sweater but the others saw her arm first and gasped.  
"No way…" Mion couldn't believe what she was seeing.  
Tenchi went wide-eyed a moment "Why does… she…" but his voice kept trailing off.  
Rena's hand drew to her mouth. "Oyashio-sama…"

On Amaya's arm was a group of kanji that seemed to have been burned into her flesh from her wrist almost to her elbow. オヤシロ the kanji for spelling out Oyashio-sama's name, appeared almost like a tattoo. She whimpered and tried to put the sweater back in place when Rika stood up and grabbed her hand gently.  
"Amaya," the blue haired girl asked. "How on earth did you get that?"  
"I don't know…" Amaya whimpered. Rika looked up at the taller girl and let go so her sleeve fell down and covered her burns. She could feel everyone's eyes staring at her. It felt as though she had done something wrong, like the kanji burned into her skin was an evil spell that had casted.

xXx

From behind the others, Rena exchanged a look with Mion. "Do you think she's the one?" She whispered just loud enough for Mion to hear.  
"Must be."  
"So what should we do with her?"  
Mion rubbed her arm where the burns would be if she was the one with them. "Wait for the festival…"

* * *

The name 'Raiden' has two meanings. One meaning 'thunder and lighting', the other meaning 'Thunder God'. The reason why Keiichi asks if Amaya's middle name is to be Raiden for Raiden-sama is because he's referring to the second meaning of the name. Plus Rika's a shrine priestess so it would make more sense if she named Amaya after a god.

And if it doesn't make sense as to why Keiichi grabbed Amaya in the part where Keiichi grabs Amaya's wrist, go back and re-read the previous chapter. Remember, three more reviews for this chapter if ya want an update.


	5. Cabin Fever

**Author's Corner:** Yeah… my computer kept deleting this chapter for some reason. Or rather saying it was corrupt and making me delete it. Sorry if it's not as good as the others or like how I originally intended. But thanks for reviewing! XOXO

More one thing. I've realized that I probably do have to use honorifics (of course after I make that big speech about how I won't use them…) mainly because of Satoko. I know there are a few ways to say "older brother"/"Big brother" in Japanese but one of the ways she got to calling Satoshi "Ni-Ni" is because she based it off "Nii-san" and "Ani". I'll try using them in this chapter. Tell me if you think I should keep using them or not.

* * *

When the Summer Sky Shatters  
_Chyosa-hen  
__The Investigation Chapter  
Part four: Cabin Fever  


* * *

_

The rain didn't let up until it was dinnertime. By then everyone had occupied himself or herself by doing this or that. Rena and Mion were trying to help Amaya remember where she was from by naming towns, places and events then asking if any of them were familiar to her. For most she replied that she had heard of it, but wasn't sure if that had anything to do with her past. They kept it up for about an hour or so after Keiichi had pulled that little 'stunt' of his before switching over and talking about other things like Hinamizawa. As they did that Keiichi tried adding a few things in but Mion and Rena pushed him away. Eventually he gave up and started watching Tenchi and Rika.

"Nippa!" Rika cheered and clapped her hands. "Tenchi-kun you're so cool."  
Tenchi grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Well I wouldn't say 'cool' but I suppose I _am_ interesting." The two of them had been playing _Twenty Questions_ but it seemed like it had turned into the _How-Many-Questions-Can-I-Ask-You-Before-Satoko-Finishes-Making-Dinner_ game. Out of everyone in the room, the two of them were getting along the best. Tenchi never seemed to mind Rika's childish antics or questions. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying them. He agreed to each with his lopsided smile of his and always kept asking what she wanted to do next.  
"My turn," Rika announced softly. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  
"W-what?" Tenchi asked with an odd look on his face.  
Rika tilted her head to the side at his reaction but otherwise ignored it. "What job do you want to have when you're an adult?" She asked, rephrasing her question.  
"Oh, that. Sorry I thought you said something else. Let's see…. I want to be an actor when I grow up."  
"Really?" Tenchi nodded. "Why an actor?"  
Tenchi shrugged. In the background he heard Amaya announce she was going to try and help Satoko with dinner. "I'm not really sure. Mostly it's because my uncle was one and I wanted to make him proud, I guess."

"What movies was he in?" Mion asked and she walked across the room with and sat down in the tight circle.  
"A few. He was in… ah," Tenchi leaned forward and rest his arms on the top of his knees. "What movie would you all know? Oh! Did you see _Unladed Wings_?"  
"I love that movie!"  
"Well he played the teach-" Tenchi got cut off by Rena tackling him into a hug. "…er. Um Rena-chan…?"  
"Mau! I want to take him home!"  
Tenchi blinked as Rena started to snuggle him. "Why?"  
"Tenchi-kun is the nephew of my favorite actor!" She explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
"Ah… I see…"

xXx

"Just ignore it," Satoko muttered as she dug around for a ladle. In the other room Rena had just squealed. "She does that all the time."  
"Are you mad at me Satoko-chan?" Amaya asked softly. She was holding a glass measuring cup that Satoko had just finished with. "Satoko-chan?" She repeated when she got no reply. "Satoko-chan I just want to help you," she explained as the blonde stood on her tiptoes on the counter to reach for something in the cabinets. "It's not fair that you have to cook for six people all by yourself. Here, let me get that." She walked over to the counter and reached up into the cabinet with her right hand. Her sleeve slid down a bit and showed off the top of her burn.

Satoko froze as the burned arm reached over her head. _Ni-Ni…_ Her eyes widened. "Get away from me!" She shouted and quickly shoved Amaya.  
The black haired girl stumbled backwards, dropping the glass measuring cup she had been carrying before. The glass shattered and spread across the kitchen as Amaya caught herself on the counter. Leaning on the counter for balance she stared up at Satoko. "Chika?" She whispered hoarsely.

xXx

"Get away from me!"  
"Satoko-chan?" Tenchi and the others looked up as the heard the glass shatter. Rika was the first to head towards the kitchen followed by Rena, Tenchi and Keiichi with Mion trailing behind only because she was the furthest away. They all stopped in the doorway once they saw the glass.  
"What happened?" Keiichi asked alarmed as Rena pushed past him. She didn't even seem phased my the glass and walked over it, not caring that tiny fragments slid into her feet.  
"Are you hurt?" She asked Amaya who was doubled over like she had been struck. The girl had her eyes closed and a pained look on her face.  
"Uh-uh." Amaya shook her head.  
"Satoko-chan? What about you?" Rena looked up at the blonde girl who was standing up on the counter, clutching a large ladle. Rena's voice was calmer than normal but at the same time… more curious. Still, she sounded like she didn't have the same thought as the others in the room.  
Satoko sniffled. "I'm fine Rena-chan. Can you help me get down?" She was reaching down. Rena held out her arms and Satoko held on to Rena's shoulders as the older girl carried her like a toddler over the glass and out of the kitchen. "But the food…"  
"I've got it," Mion said and stepped forward. Rika followed behind her with a broom and dustpan, sweeping up the mess. As she swept Rena and Mion exchanged looks before Rena left carrying Satoko. No one spoke again until Rika finished sweeping. "Rika-chan… why don't you go check on Satoko?"  
Nodding, Rika tugged on Tenchi's sleeve. "Come on, Tenchi-kun, let's go." He looked back at Amaya one last time before allowing himself to be led away by Rika.  
"And Kei-chan?" Mion turned around to make sure Keiichi was still there. "There's a medical kit and the bathroom. Can you get it and make sure Rena gets the glass out of her feet?" Keiichi nodded but stayed quiet as he left the kitchen. Once everyone had left Mion sighed.

"Too much," she complained. Throwing a look back at Amaya she saw the other girl was examining her scarred arm.  
"Does Satoko-chan hate me?"  
"What makes you say that?" Mion asked, pushing herself up on the counter to sit on it.  
"She couldn't reach something and when I went to help her… she shoved me."  
"Did she now? I wonder..." Mion grimaced. She sounded like Rena for a moment. _I need new friends,_ she thought. Sighing once more she leaned over and shut off the stove before patting the counter space next to her. "Sit," she ordered.

Amaya nodded as she tried to climb up onto the small counter with Mion. She was trying to do it one-armed so not to put pressure on her healing arm. Unable to get herself up she gave up after a few tries and stood in front of Mion instead, raising her cerulean eyes to meet the older girl's light green ones. "Wonder what?" She asked curiously. Mion said nothing in return but reached her hand behind her. When she drew it forward it was holding the black pistol that she had taken from Amaya when they had found her under the tree in the forest. Amaya's eyes widen. "T-that's…"  
"Yours?"

Something about the tone in Mion's voice had changed. It seemed much more detached and reserved than it had been seconds ago. Amaya said nothing but rose her hand to take it. Pulling the gun out of reach from the black haired girl, Mion smirked. "Well, is it?" Amaya nodded. "So it is… tell me Ama-chan, why did you have a gun with you earlier?" Silently another person entered the kitchen and stood unnoticed by Amaya, ignored by Mion.  
Amaya bit her lip. "It was my father's… he was a hunter."  
"I thought you said you couldn't remember anything."  
"I never said that. I just-"  
"Lied?" Rena's voice made Amaya flinched.  
"Never. No one asked so I didn't think that it was important. And besides that's all I know."  
"So you know your father was a hunter, but you don't know who he was?" Amaya nodded once more at Rena's question. "I wonder, I wonder…" Her blue eyes trailed up to Mion's.

_Click._ Amaya's calm eyes darted to the gun Mion was holding, the safety now taken off. Her expression didn't change when she noticed Mion's finger lingering by the trigger. "One more question." There was a delicate pause before Mion smiled and brought the gun up to Amaya's forehead. "Do you know who Oyashiro-sama is?"


	6. Okinomiya, 1997

**Author's Notice:** Oh my god, I ditched you all for two months. I'm so sorry! Things just kept getting in the way and this chapter took forever to type up. And- and…. Shmeh. No excuses. Here's the update I owe you. On a side note, HERE COMES THE CLIMAX OF THE ARC! Somewhere. Within the next few chapters. Yeah…

* * *

When the Summer Sky Shatters  
_Chyosa-hen  
__**The Investigation Chapter  
**_Part Five: Okinomiya, 1997

* * *

"You still here Callahan?"  
"Mm-hm."  
"Do you ever sleep?"  
"Nope."  
"Do you ever-"  
"Do you ever shut up?"

If there was one thing that the forty year old hated, it was people distracting him from his work. Couldn't anyone realize that he was trying to do something important? Or ssee how his case wasn't just another lost cause? Something had happened that night almost ten years ago. He couldn't put his finger on it but he just knew that the story didn't end with the deaths of nine children. There was something else, something he wasn't seeing. And that something was pushing him one step closer to going off the deep end.

_But what was it?_

Sighing. Detective Callahan pulled open a draw on hi desk and started to shift through it. His brown eyes drooped in exhaustion ass he read the names on top of the files, almost unable to read his own handwriting. _"Setting, shops, stolen items/goods, townspeople,"_ he mumbled the names to himself to keep track of them. It wouldn't be the first time he had accidently skipped over a file he was looking for. "Ah, here it is, Villagers." He flipped open a crème colored folder stuffed with the profiles and descriptions of 2,004 people; men, women and children of all ages but most importantly, an off white folder that had THE VICTIMS printed on it with a stamp. Below that he had written _The Cast_ in hi messy handwriting.

To him, this cases seemed like a soap opera at a first glance. A maddening soap opera, but a soap opera nonetheless. In fact when he first read over the files he refused to believe that anyone, let alone _nine_ people, children at that, could suffer such grisly fates. Shaking his head he started to remove the profiles of the victims, counting off their deaths as he looked over them for the hundredth time. The first profile he pulled out belonged to a girl with green hair and bright aquamarine eyes. 'Sonozaki Mion' was printed at the top near the paperclip photo. "Such a pretty girl," he sighed. "Damn the beast that sliced your throat open." He sat her profile down and picked up the next. A small pale boy with bags under is eyes, pushing his light brown bangs out of his face was the photo attached to the next profile. "Taro Hiroshi-san," the detective read aloud. "Ten years old, died of blunt force trauma, most likely beaten to death. Hojo Satoko-san, affixation and multiple abrasions to the arms, hands and legs… pity, she was only nine. Sayo Amaya-san… what the hell happened to you? Slit wrists, your veins were pulled out of your arms… did someone dissect you? And Maebara Keiichi-san, you had the blood of several of your friends on you, mostly the blood of Sayo-san. Did you come across their dead bodies and succumb to Hinamizawa Syndrome? Or were you their killer who suddenly became suffocated by what you had don? Was _that_ what drove you to claw your own throat and wrists until death took you? Or… was it Ryuguu Rena-san, the girl who also had the blood of most of the victims on a machete she was holding in death, the killer?" Grimacing slightly, he put her profile down and paused. For a moment he rested his head in his hands. It was thoroughly disgusting what had happened to those children, even more so to the group of children he had left out. For that he breathed in slowly. He always had to stop when he got to the next victims.

"Furude Rika-san," he announced to himself. It was her death that disturbed him the most because when he first started the case his daughter was the same age as Rika. E had once lived in a world where he could easily promise his daughter's safety but after reading what had happened to Rika… for something so horrible to happen to the young girl in Hinamizawa only made the detective realize that maybe his family wasn't as safe as he would have liked to think. Especially if he actually solved this case and caught the criminal. Revenge was a powerful motive and if the killer didn't get the death penalty then Callahan was sure that he would come after him and his family. "Gah, stop thinking about that. Focus, Callahan, focus! Furude Rika-san, she had her entrails pulled out of her body. Poor dear. Who would want to do that to a sweet girl like you? You didn't deserve that…." With another sigh, his eyes trailed over to the next profile. "Neither did you, Isako Tenchi-san... tortured with a thousand cuts strategically placed throughout your body to keep you alive until the last cut was delivered. No mercy for your best friend, Masao Yuji-san, either. He suffered the bit of Ryuguu-san's blade and was later burned alive."

"You're forgetting Takano-san and Tomitake-san."

"Ooishi-san," Callahan greeted dully. He didn't like the older police officer at all, mainly because Ooishi was the cop in charge of the Hinamizawa area at the time of the murders. He had even been investigating the first set. So in retrospect, someone in Callahan's position could easily pin the blame of the nine children dying on Ooishi.

"You don't see too happy to see me," remarked the older cop.

"Forgive me sempai," Callahan muttered darkly, "I haven't gotten much sleep lately. What are you doing here at this time anyway? Shouldn't you be working?"

"I got some time off. Don't suppose your car has room for one more?"

Callahan snorted. "That's assuming an awful lot," he said but Ooishi took no offense. The older police officer was used to being dislike by people and them trying to be subtle when they took snips at him. Taking a drag on his cigarette, Ooishi frowned a bit.

"That look," he whispered to himself. Callahan was giving him a hard glare. That look was all too familiar to him. In fact, it belonged to a young girl who had died fourteen years ago whom he would rather not remember. "Wipe that office your face, boy," he ordered in a much harsher tone than he had been using.

"What look?" Callahan prompted, not diminishing the glower he was directing at Ooishi. If anything, there was a faint twitch in his lips as he resisted smirking.

"Listen-" He watched as Ooishi scowled and took a step forward. What Ooishi was planning on doing or saying, the detective would never know because at the moment, they were interrupted.

Another man had entered the room. In his late twenties he had maroon colored hair tinted with a few silver strands, his dark eyes flickered nervously around the room. He was an intern in the Missing Persons department and didn't quite know his place yet. Clutching a clipboard to his dark blue suite, he cleared his throat. "Uh… sorry to interrupt sempai," he paused and bowed respectfully at each man before turning his gaze to Callahan. "But the doctor you wanted to speak with is on hold in the main office. If it's private we can connect it to someplace else."

"That's alright," said Callahan. His demeaning gaze had ended and had been swapped out with a monotonous one. "I'll take it out there." He pushed himself up and out of his chair using his hands that had been pressed against the table. Not bothering to clean up the mess on his desk, he walked across the room and to the doorway. "Ooishi-san," he bowed his head slightly. The gesture went unreturned. With that he left room, exiting to the right while the intern and Ooishi stayed behind.

Taking another drag on his cigarette, Ooishi turned to the intern. "That doctor… Who is he?"

"H-he was living near the Hinamizawa area at the time," the young man answered. "He says that he knew the children on Callahan's list because they would come down to Okinomiya every so often to either play games with their little club or to just roam around the town for a change of pace."

"I see. Very well then, if you excuse me, I believe I _do_ have some work waiting for me."

"A-alright. Goodbye then Ooishi-sempai." But the police officer had already left the room leaving the intern to himself. He stayed still for a moment but quickly found himself fidgeting about. Glancing over at Callahan's desk, he saw that there were papers scattered on the tabletop. "So that's them," he said to himself as he walked over. He had heard stories of what Callahan was investigating, but he had never gotten a chance to learn anything about the children Callahan called 'the victims'. In reality, there were many more victims than the nine of them- it seemed fruitless to focus on such a small number and just ignore the bigger picture.

" 'The Cast'? Now that's just cruel. I doubt their ghosts would be too pleased to find out no one was taking their deaths seriously. God, that's awful." At the moment he had Rena and Yuji's profile in his hands. Setting them down, he shook his head. "I was always told you all were friends. How can friends do something this awful to each other?" Placing those profiles down, he looked at the nearest one. "Sayo Amaya-chan. The little gunner girl who went and got herself killed." His nose scrunched up after reading the condition her body was in. He looked at her folder and noticed that there was part of someone else in the photo. She was in a small classroom, he could tell from the chalkboard that had fractions written up on it and the desk she was sitting on, dressed in a grey jacket with a white collar folded down at the top, a small red ribbon tied in a bow around her neck and a black ruffled skirt. Her black hair had a slight wave to it despite black ribbons being tied into it, and her cerulean blue eyes shined with a happiness that couldn't quite be described. Her arm was wrapped around the shoulder of someone wearing a white shirt but when he looked around at the other photos, no one else was wearing a white shirt. Well, Rika was but she was too small to be the person Amaya was hugging. And… now that he thought about….

"Someone's missing…"


	7. Fragments

**Author's Notice:** I would ask if any of you could guess at what point in the Higurashi timeline this arc takes place but I don't think it's fair, especially if you didn't see the "Laws of the Labyrinth" episode which is in the sequel. Speaking of which, how many of you HAVE finished watching Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni? Because I'd hate to spoil things. I know I have hinted spoilers but you won't realize it's a spoiler until you've reached that point in the series.

So… do any of you have any questions you want me to answer? Because I know this part is confusing.

* * *

When the Summer Sky Shatters  
_Chyosa-hen  
__**The Investigation Chapter  
**_Part Six: Fragments

* * *

_Tweet, tweet. _A small yellow bird chirped happily inside its cage. Flapping its bright wings, it anxiously mulled about the long circular cage it lived in. _Tweeeet!_ A grin escaped the lips of the person holding the cage. Small, extraordinarily pale hands were barely visible by the large lime-green hooded sweater shirt as they clung to the cage. "I know," whispered the owner softly. He was an undersized boy, looking smaller than his eleven years, with short light brown hair. His bangs, however, hung in the way of his hazel eyes and he pushed the strands back only to have them fall forward a moment later. Dark circles lay to rest under his eyes. Everything considered, he looked sickly and frail but that didn't stop him from smiling.

"Heh." The sound escaped his lips as his arms shook a bit. Knowing very well what could happen next, he placed the birdcage down in front of him and sat down next to his caged songbird. "This is it," he whispered in an excited voice. He raised his hands to look at them, allowing them to escape the cover of his green sweatshirt. He flexed them and then let them rest on his blue jeans. "It's really happened…." He had waited far too long for this moment. "We… I did it…" His grin broadened until his expression was bright enough to light a dark room. "Aw, right!" He cheered. "I did it! I did it! I really did it!" Jumping up and down, he wanted to scream it to the heavens. "Ha, ha, yeah!"

xXx

"Ah! It's so good to actually be able to walk around." With a yawn, Keiichi stretched in a cat like manner as he spoke. "No more bumping into things, no more listening to people snoring, no more inability to stretch my legs and most of all…" His voice trailed off and he covered his mouth to suppress a giggle. _"NO. MORE. RAIN!"_ With each word he kicked one of his legs out.

"Someone's feeling happy today."

Keiichi turned around for a moment and grinned. "Ah, Tenchi-kun."

"Yo!" Tenchi lifted his hand in greeting before stepping forward. "Morning Keiichi-kun. I can see you slept well last night."

"Didn't you?" Tenchi shook his head. His black hair bounced around as he did so in a ponytail messed up from sleeping. "Why not?"

The older boy shrugged and glanced sideways at the forest. "The thunder and lightning kept me all night again. Sure is loud…" His voice trailed off as he looked back at Keiichi. "Nothing like the big city at all…"

"You're from the city?" Keiichi asked. He was given a nod as a response. "Then what are you doing all the way out here?" Again Tenchi shrugged but otherwise ignored the question. "School work? Studies?" Keiichi asked, trying to get a verbal answer. Each time he asked a question, Tenchi shook his head 'no'. This continued on for several more minutes until Keiichi finally asked; "A change of pace?"

Tenchi's black eyes flickered for a moment, back to the forest, before he grinned once more. "Yeah, that's it. A change of pace." He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and took another step forward. "It really is beautiful here."

"Eh?"

"Haven't you ever looked around, Keiichi-kun? The flowers are so much brighter than the parks in the city, the trees are _huge_, the air is so much cleaner."

"You really are a city kid," Keiichi laughed. It reminded him of when he first arrived at Hinamizawa a few months ago. Each day had a sense of fulfilled nostalgic, a new beginning, and a brighter day. Everyone knew everyone so you didn't have to worry about anything bad happening to you either. And even if it was a small village, there was no sense of being trapped. Hinamizawa was welcoming. Like a long lost friend waiting to embrace you. "Just wait until you see the rest of the village."

"KEI-CHAN! Where are you? We're gonna be late!" Mion's loud voice filled the air. In another moment, she opened the door, nearly hitting the two boys in the process. She was wearing a yellow shirt and blue pants with a gun holster at her shoulder. "There you are." She turned back and stuck her head inside Rika and Satoko's house. "I found him."

"I told you he wasn't lost," Satoko said as she stepped out wearing a pink shirt and blue shorts.

"Morning Kei-chan!" Rena stepped out, sporting her usual white outfit. She smiled at her friends as she slipped on her hat. "Did the thunder keep you up too, I wonder?"

Keiichi shook his head. "Naw, I slept fine. Did it keep you up?"

Rena shook her head lightly before taking another step forward. "It kept you up though, right Tenchi-kun?"

"How'd… you know that?"

The ginger haired girl shrugged her shoulders. "Rena saw you looking outside at the forest. Were you watching the rain? Tenchi-kun?" But she seemed to have lost the older boy's attention. His black eyes trailed once more to the forest, looking off a something in the distance. "Tenchi-kun?"

"Are there any old stories about things living in the forest?" Tenchi asked suddenly. "Anything at all? Goblins, demons, shape-shifters and the like?"

"I don't think so…" Keiichi murmured. "Then again, I haven't lived here from long." He looked at the girls for guidance. Each girl stayed silent.

"Ghosts live there." Everyone gathered turned to look at the door. Rika stood in the doorway in her little green dress. "But they won't hurt you, Chi-chan. You're too nice. And there is Oyashiro-sama, our shrine god who has protected the village for many years. But you don't have to worry about him either- until next week at least."

"What's next week?" Tenchi asked.

Mion took that as her cue to step in. "You'll see, Tenchi-kun. Now, is everyone here? We have some very important Club business to attend to. Ah, where'd Amaya run off to? Has anyone seen her today?" Most of the group shook their heads. Satoko remained indifferent. "That's odd…" From the way Mion was speaking, no one would be able to guess what she had done to the black haired girl two nights ago. "Ah well, her fault if she misses out on my instructions…."

xXx

As he laughed, his pet bird joined in with a squeaky song. For almost a minute they continued their fit of merriment but in the midst of it, the young boy stopped. Barely ten o'clock in the morning, and the cicadas already could be heard making their buzzing sound. The radio said today was going to be a scorcher; he didn't need the small bugs to remind him. They were celebrating, he knew they were. And why shouldn't they be?

He just needed them to keep crying out with him. Just keep singing. Just keep whispering to him the truth- that he was safe, that this was his homecoming. But most of all, he was _alive._

"We really did it, girl," he whispered to his bird. "We made it back. We're… home." Home. He had wondered how long it would take him until he was able to use that word again. Now that he could, the word tasted sweet on his tongue just like the fresh country air he had used to live in. "Back in Hinamizawa…."

xXx

"Alright, hands up. Are there any who oppose? Kei-chan? Rena-chan? Rika-chan?"

In the middle of the village, the gaming club stood in a circle with Amaya and Tenchi near them. Mion was in the absolute center, looking around for raised hands. Not that it was difficult, there only were four other members. "What about you, Satoko-chan?"

The blonde girl looked at Mion for a moment, before glancing back at Amaya and Tenchi. "I oppose allowing Sayo-san to enter," she announced.

"Eh? What for?" Mion asked. Already it would seem like she had forgotten what had happened two nights before. "Well… if you're sure. The vote stands one against, Sayo-chan. Now, everyone who is for passing the movement, raising your hand… now." Rena was the first to raise her hand, waving it energetically around. Rika smiled and raised her hand as well while Keiichi just shrugged. Rena had to hold his hand up for him. "And there we have it! Sorry, Satoko, but it looks like both Sayo-chan and Tenchi-kun have been elected into the club by a landslide victory. Congratulations you two! Now on to today's activities!"

With everyone gathered and with the two new teenagers quickly being voted as honorary members the Club, Mion went into explaining what they would be doing for the day. "In five days time, the village will be holding its annual Watanagashi Festival where we give our thanks to our local god, Oyashiro-sama. As you can probably guess, the past two days of rain have pushed us far back in preparing for the event. Booths still need to be built, things got washed away in the flood and need to be retrieved, plus other miscellaneous things have to be done if we're going to make ends meet. And as you two have probably gathered," she looked at Amaya and Tenchi, "This Club is all about hosting challenge and setting goals so that by the end of the day, the winners are victorious and the losers have to play a penalty game, listening to whatever the winners say. Understood?" Both black haired teenagers nodded intently. "Perfect! Now today's game is simple: the person, or persons, who get the most done and are the most helpful is the winner. Now, let's move out!"

"Right!" All the others chorused, snapping up into attention and saluting at Mion.

"Move out!" She commanded and everyone headed off in separate directions. Tenchi quickly made his way over to an elderly couple that was having trouble constructing their booth, Keiichi found his way to a mother who needed help counting all the fish in her tank to see if she had enough to last the week, Rika and Satoko wandered off to go paint a sign while Rena and Amaya ran off together to help someone with the preparing fried seafood. "I guess that leaves me," Mion sighed.

xXx

"Heh." Smoke blew out from what seemed to be a tree. The road was about two yards away, abandoned in the high of noon. Two figures stood parallel to each other, their gaze locked on figures in the distance. "Five days to the Watanagashi Festival," the eldest of the two announced. "You'll be attending, I assume?"

"Of course, Ooishi-san." This voice had a much soften tone to it. It wasn't as rough or course, but it did have a stoic rhythm to it. Much younger, the voice was. "I'd think it'd be rude not to give praise to the local god of my people."

"Your people?" Ooishi asked with a smirk. The sun was in his eyes and he couldn't see who he was talking to. Fortunately, even if under misfortunate circumstances, he had already met the younger man. Short blonde hair, bright emerald eyes and a dull expression on his face, he wore a gray suit, minus the blazer which he held in his hands. Formal and organized, he knew the blonde was a decent man through and through.

"Patients," the other male voice answered.

"But you haven't been accepted to medical school yet."

"I know. But everyone needs their start somewhere, after all." The blonde shrugged. "It's a cozy little medical clinic, even if on the larger side for the rest of the village. Even if I can't make it far, I still think it doesn't matter how much money I make. What's important is saving lives. The people here don't have as many medical opportunities as those where you're from or in the big city, Irie-sempai needs as many hands as he can get. I'm only glad to assist him in any way I can."

"I still say you seem young, Yuji-kun," remarked the elder cop. "Only two days of practice and he already has you with patients?"

Yuji nodded. "Doing this and that. I'm mostly learning from Takano-sempai. I suppose that makes me a Nurse's Assistant now, doesn't it?"

Ooishi laughed. "It does. And what kind of assistant are you if you won't even held out?"

"I help save lives, Ooishi-san, not build wooden stands. Besides, I already told you, I'm looking for my friends."

xXx

"Fifteen, sixteen, seven- argh! Stop moving!"

"They're just fish, Keichi-kun, they can't help it. Come on, at this rate, you'll never win the game."

"If you're so worried about it, Satoko, why don't you help me?"

"Ohohoho! But it's much more fun to watch you suffer."

"Grrrr."

"Growl all you want, Kei-chan," Satoko taunted, "But that doesn't change the fact that you're still only on your first job. Everyone else is on their third, better hurry up."

"Just leave me alone!" Keiichi snapped as he jumped back at the girl. "Go run off and play with dolls or something if you're so sure you'll win!"

"Fine," she huffed. "I'll just go onto my _fourth_ job then."

Without looking back, she headed right back to where Rika and Rena were standing. They were speaking in hushed whispers, Rika gesturing to her stomach while Rena kept nodding.

"...keep on eye on her," she heard Rika say. "Watch out so we'll be the only ones who see them alone."

"See who alone?" Satoko asked as she drew near. "Who were you talking about?"

"Ah, it's nothing Satoko-chan." Rena answered. She smiled down at the girl. "Nothing to worry about."

"Then why aren't you telling me, Rena?"

"I told you, it's nothing to worry about."

"But-"

"Don't worry, Satoko-chan, it's just a little secret."

Satoko looked down for a moment, staying silent. "Are you keeping secrets from me Rika-chan?" She asked quietly.

Rika frowned. "Just…forget you heard it."

_"What?" _Satoko stared at Rika. The little girl had been acting so strange lately. In fact, so had Mion and Rena ever since…. "Rika…chan?"

Rika smiled brightly at Satoko, cocking her head to the side. "Nippa."

* * *

_A/N: Alright, for the sake of my sanity, I'm ending it there. It's sucky, I know. But I'll make up for it in the next chapter or so. Promise. –Snuffy._


	8. Remember me?

**Author's Note**: So yeah… I'm epically behind on this, I know and I'm really sorry. I just hope that some of you can make some sense of what's happening… I can't really explain it right now but I would like to be able to promise that it was worth it. However, you'll have to be the judge of that. Reviews please and thank you.  
EDIT: I was also having some major computer issues but I've found it now~ Thanks to all my readers who kept checking up on me!

* * *

When the Summer Sky Shatters  
_Chyosa-hen  
__**The Investigation Chapter  
**_Part Seven: Remember me?

* * *

Stumbling backward a step, the undersized boy shook hi head slightly but enough to allow his bangs to fall into his face. His light brown eyes tried to settle from the shock. This was not the news he had intended to hear. The small boy stood still for a moment before letting his head sink down low. "I'm… sorry," he whispered quietly. "I… I didn't know."

"There was no way you could have." The boy kept his head down, unwilling to look up in her emerald eyes.

"I know but-"

"Please don't say it Hiroshi-kun."

"But-"

"Hiroshi…."

The young boy sighed. "Right… sorry Mii-chan.."

Mion forced herself to smile. "It's aright Hiro-kun. Like I said, there was no way that you could have known. Try to smile for once, okay?" She placed her hand on his head and ruffled his hair. Hiroshi quickly cast his eyes to the direction of the park in the distance, anything to distract himself. Drawing her hand back, she held her hands limply at her side. "It's not your fault that he disappeared," Mion whispered. She watched the boy wince, his head lowering once more before a slightly shudder passed through his body. Apparently it would take awhile for the ten year old to get used to the idea. A whimper caught Mion's attention. "Hiroshi-kun…please don't cry."

Hiroshi stifled back his tears, holding his breath tight. "I can't believe I said that to Satoko-chan…."

**. . .**

_His arrival had been unexpected but it was welcoming nonetheless. While Rika and Satoko were keeping themselves by talking to one another, Tenchi was putting the final bangs in with a hammer to make the calamari booth, Keiichi was still on his first station counting fish for the woman and Rena, Mion, and Amaya were laughing to themselves while they painted the festival's banner. __"At least I still know how to write," Amaya joked._

_"Eh? But you misspelled 'six'…" said Rena._

_"Wah? No I didn't!"_

_"Ha, ha! You did!"_

_"What do I do?"_

_"Cross it out," Rena suggested. _

_"But that would look bad..." _

_Mion rolled her eyes and held out a hand, "Here, give me your paintbrush." When Amaya handed it over she drew a circle around the word and filled in the circle with brown paint. "Now Rena, give me yours." With Rena's red paint brush she filled in tear dropped shapes around the edge of the circle. "See? It's a flower now."_

_The other two girls glanced at each other than back at what Mion had just painted. "It looks like a little kid drew it…" said Amaya. Behind her, Rena nodded._

_"Hey! At least I didn't misspell the number six!"_

_"My misspelled six would have looked better."_

_"Would not!"_

_"Would so."_

_As the two girls began to bicker, Rena took a step back laughing. They might not have known each other for more than a few days but they already were acting like they had known each other for years. Just like it had been when Keiichi moved to Hinamizawa. There was just something about the small village that brought up a sense of trust and belonging that no one, even new comers, could even think to question. So with the sun setting, Rena concluded that it was a day well spent, even if it looked like she wasn't going to be the winner of their competition. She just didn't know that one thing was about to make it better. Turning around to go check on Tenchi, she noticed another figure approaching them. She recognized it at once. "Hiroshi-kun!" She shouted, waving a hand at the approaching. When she repeated the name again, the villagers began to look up from their work._

_"Did the Taro family come back?"_

_"I thought they disappeared…"_

_"Bless that boy, I never thought I'd see him again."_

_"Hiroshi Taro… poor boy, I bet he doesn't even know-"_

_"Shhhhh! Don't tell him about that blasted Hojo boy; his heart wouldn't be able to take it!"_

_"Oh! Look at his face, poor dear."_

_"I bet he's expecting to see him soon...."_

_And such was the talk of villagers. Dark and dreary… but such was not the talk of the teenagers. Rena was quickly joined by Rika and Rena, Satoko dragging slowly in the rear of them, three of the girls filled the air with excited chatter to the boy. _

_Rena was hugging him tightly, going on about how cute he had gotten in the past two years; Rika was just glad to see him but she was worried about how deathly pale he had gotten; and Mion was speaking so fast about how he had come just in time for the Watanagashi Festival. But Hiroshi seemed to be intent on talking to only one person. He smiled up at the older girls, told Rika he was fine and said to Mion that he was looking forward to the Watanagashi Festival. _

_With that said and done, he saw Satoko literally hiding behind Keiichi. "Satoko-chan!" he called to her and grinned. She ducked behind Keiichi once more but Hiroshi's grin didn't fade. "Satoko, Satoko! Hey! It's been a long time, hasn't it?"_

_Slowly, the blonde girl stuck her head out from behind Keiichi just to pay her respects. "Yeah…Hiro-kun… it's been a long time...." He didn't pick up the sadness in her voice, and he didn't know the weight his next question would lay at her chest._

_"Hey, you haven't seen Satoshi-kun lately, have you?"_

**

* * *

**

"And so how did Satoko react to seeing her older brother's old friend?"

Ooishi took a drag on his cigarette. "How do you think she reacted, Callahan? She ran away."

"And the others?" The detective asked. "How did the three newcomers react?

"Four," Ooishi corrected, "There were four newcomers gathered there that day."

"That's right… Masao-san…."

"Mmmhmm." Ooishi let out a puff of smoke from his lips. "He was the one who later would take over Hojo-san's treatment at the clinic."

"And he was the one who Ryuguu Rena would later attack…." Callahan sighed. From the stories he had gathered from Ooishi and a doctor that lived in the neighboring city of Okinomiya, a city that the children would often visit in their last week or so of life, all the children had grown to be close friends. _But if they were such close friends,_ he wondered, _why on earth would Ryuguu-san have attacked Masao-san?_

"You think it was her, don't you?" Ooishi asked. "You think it was Ryuguu who killed Yuji, don't you?"

Callahan shook his head. "She might have assisted in his death but her records show that she definitely died before he did."

"He could have killed her in self defense."

"No. Like you said, they all seemed to be friends despite the age difference. I, like him, would not have been aware of the situation until it was too late and her cleaver was already sunk deep in my shoulder. Besides… he was most likely in too much shock to be able to hit her neck in such a precise area, he couldn't have been her killer. Heh, you know Ooishi-san, these kids are making it seem like Tomitake-san and Takano-san got it easy when they were killed…. What happened next?"

Ooishi shrugged. "They all went their separate ways; Isako-san wound up staying with Furude-san and Hojo-san, I remember he said that some adult should be with them; Sonozaki-san took a hold of Sayo-san's hand so I assume she was going to let the girl stay with her family; and Maebara-san offered to walk home with Taro-san. As it would turn out, his family was moving back into their old house now that he was done with his treatment and they were now neighbors to Maebara-san and his family."

"Was the winner of their game ever decided?"

"Who knows? They might have decided to continue it at the Festival for all I know."

Nodding, Callahan made a mental note of it all. He had heard a few different versions from Ooishi; old age having worn down his memory it would seem. But despite being down this road a thousand times, he brought the phone back up to his right ear. "Thank you for waiting doctor, I'm sorry to be keeping your from your duties for so long."

"It's not a problem," a male voice from the other end of the telephone replied. "Whoever killed these children was a monster. As I've said before, if there's anything I can do to help you in your investigation-"

Callahan interrupted him. "You said you saw them the next day in Okinomiya?"

"Yes. I remember that day clearly. The elders of the village had sent them down to the city to see if anyone was willing to donate any used futons or couches for the Festival."

"Was Hojo-san with them?"

"No…. I didn't see her until the Watanagashi Festival later that week. It was Taro-san, Maebara-san, Sayo-san, Sonozaki-san, Furude-san, Ryuguu-san and Isako-san…"

* * *

"We don't have enough bikes…"

"So we'll double up and have people sit on the handlebars. I'll take Hiro-kun, Amaya-chan with Kei-chan-"

"I want to go with Tenchi-kun," Rika declared.

Mion nodded. "Sure but you and Rena are going to have to switch bikes, Rena can go by herself on yours and Tenchi-kun should be able to take you on Rena's."

The rest of the group nodded and walked over to the appropriate bicycle and riding buddy. Amaya walked the slowest of them all over to Keiichi. She had borrowed some clothes from Mion and was wearing a pair of blue jean overalls that had been cut short and a red long sleeved sweater underneath, no doubt to conceal the burn scars or her arm, with white socks and a pair of white sneakers. "No helmet?" she asked.

Keiichi shook his head. "Want me to go back and get one for you?"

"No, that's okay. We'll hold the group up if you do."

"Here's my bike Tenchi-kun," said Rena.

The older boy smiled. "Thanks." Taking the bike with no concern for its girl-like qualities, he straddled the bike and held it up right by keeping his feet on the ground. "Ready Rika-chan?" The small girl nodded and he offered her a hand to climb up to the handlebars. She squirmed around for a few moments before settling herself. Looking up at the boy she nodded. "Ready to go," he called to Mion. Hiroshi gave them a thumbs up and looked over a Rena, who was also ready. Amaya and Keiichi seemed to be the only ones having problems.

"You're not going to fall off, Sayo-san," Keiichi sighed.

"But there's nothing to hold on to!"

"Hold on to the handle bars!"

"I meant to _me_!"

"Just lean back."

"But-"

"Don't you trust me?" Amaya fell silent.

"You promise I won't fall?"

"If you get hurt, I will too."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart, hope to die."

Rika frowned at his comment. "You shouldn't say things like that Kei-chan," she muttered.

"It's just a figure of speech," Tenchi assured her.

"I know but still…" Rika's voice trailed off.

"Don't be so pessimistic, Rika-chan. You should be happy, that Festival of yours is coming up."

"That's right!" Rena clapped her hands together. "Watanagashi is just a few days away. And Hiroshi-kun can be welcome back to Oyashiro-sama."

"Right," the same boy agreed. Tenchi looked over at the younger boy and could have sworn that the circles under his eyes had gone darker since yesterday. "And Rika-chan will be dancing…."

Rika smiled brightly. "Mmhmm."

"You were looking forward to it, Amaya, weren't you?" Mion asked.

Amaya, how was halfway in-between finding a comfortable position on the handlebars looked over at Mion. "W-what?"

"The festival," Rena continued. "The one to honor Oyashiro-sama."

Looking from Mion to Rena, Amaya forced a smile as she found a comfortable spot. With some unspoken signal, the teens assigned to 'driving' started pedaling the bikes. "I can't wait," she said. "What about you Maebara-san?"

"It… sounds like fun… I guess." Keiichi had watched Rena and Mion give Amaya a strange look. He now watched them carefully as they pedaled their bikes. All three of the girls remained silent aside from occasional jibes about the slow speed of their friends.

_I must have been imagining things,_ he decided.

"Kei-chan!"

"Yeah?"

"We'll finish our game today," Mion announced. "All or nothing. First bike down the hill, past the light and to my uncle's store wins the contest. Everyone ready?" Amaya notably squirmed around and gripped the handles harder.

Raising off of the seat, he stood up and leaned forward, readjusting his grip as well. "Lean back," he whispered in her ear as they neared the hills.

"Huh?"

"Lean back," he repeated. "… scoot your butt off the handle, and shift the weight to the back of your knees so you're hooked in. You'll fall off if you don't," he added at her hesitation. He could hear her whimper as she quickly dropped backwards, the back of her head hitting his collarbone. Ignoring it completely, he glanced to Mion and Rena who were also now standing on their bikes.

"Ready to lose Kei-chan?"

"Ha! You wish!"

"Here we go guys!"

"Hold on tight!"

By the time they reached the bottom of the hill where Okinomiya laid, Amaya was still shaking. She had screamed the entire way down, eyes pinched shut. Now she just leaned against Keiichi, trembling. "Look on at the bright side," he laughed, "At least we found out that you're afraid of speeding."

"That's not funny," Amaya muttered as they stopped for a stoplight. "I've never been so scared in my life!"

"Relax, I told you you'd be fine."

From across the street, neither teen noticed that they were being watched by two adult figures. The first was a middle aged cop with gray hair and the second a young man with short blonde hair and bright green eyes protected by thin glasses. "Is that them?" Ooishi asked the younger man. The blonde remained silent. "Are they you're friends or not, Masao-san?"

"Yuji," the man corrected. "You make me seem old; my father is Masao-san, call me Yuji-san." The older man seemed indifferent to the correction, he was still awaiting the response. "You mean the group over there?" Ooishi responded gruffly. "No, but they'll do for now."


End file.
